Vessel-propulsion device



VESSEL PRoPULsIcN DEVICE File@ oct. 13, 1927 2 sheetS-sheet 2 nnnaonnnnWi IHcml Chai/kas m'd'h www@ ' ."Patented J .-9, l

y UNTEDSTTES PTENT vo-1`=j1=i Cr..

WILLIAM CHARLES SMITH, F MINEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA. i

vEssiiLrRoPULsIoN- DEVICE.

appiicmonaiea' 4ottone: '13, ieaa serial No. 225,926.

My inventioi'r relates to vessel. propulsion devices and has for itsobject t'ojprovide'a pair -of revoluble 'members supporting an endlesscarrier, said carrier beingA provided with paddles .pivoted'thereto andadapted to project outwardly therefrom -or to'lie sub` -stantiallyin'the plane of s aid carrier.

Another object of the invention residesin providin pairs of facing stopsadapted to be alternately engaged by said paddles for liolding the samefrom movement in either direc-J tion from projected position so as t'ocause the same totransmit tractive effort in propelling the -vessel ineither direction.

' constructing said revoluble member so; as to cause the paddles theref1 t0 jmove intp the -plane of said carrier u on"l lthe engagementthereofwith said revolu le members.

. ing in a reverse direction for .causing the ves` r 'sel to movebackwards., A

-Al featurew'of the -invent-ion resides in I arranging said paddlesfortransverse move- 4ment soas to cause' the same to engage either i .ofsaid sets ofl stops and to further arrange 3 said paddles with thepintles thereof project 4ing outwardly beyond the carrier and to pro--vide cam members for shifting all of said pintles during the operationof said carrier.` Another object voit the invention resides in providingan arcuate guideway adapted to v engage lugs formed upon the ends ofsaid paddles and to reverse the position of said paddles relative tosaid'carrier upon movement thereof. j"

lA still further object -of the invention re; sides in providingdirecting members for directing the said lugs into said guideways.

Another object of the invention resides in forming the paddles with airchambers for t causing the same to float into horizontal position so as-to allow thepaddles to pass around said vrevoluble members ,during thereversal of the paddles.

of the paddles to be shifted during the re- 5 versal of the positionofthe same relative to'said carrier.

` Another object of the invention resides in' Another objectof theAinvention .resides 4housing 10 and arra A 'feature of theVinventionvresides iin,

",Withfthe foregoing and other objects .view, which will appear in thefollowing'descri ,tionz the invention resides in the novel mation andarrangement of parts`and in the details ofconstruetion hereinafter delscribed and claimed.

in' the drawings: Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a small [vesselillustrating the application -of my inveiftion ithereto.4

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of a"portion ofl the propulsiondeviceremoved from the vess l. l y Fig. 3 is a plan View of the'structureshown in ig. 2; and drawn to a somewhat larger sca e. i

Fig. .4 is a sectional view taken substani tially on line 4--4 of Fig.3.

F1g."5 is at fragmentary side elevational view of a portion of one ofthe chains with parts thereof removed to illustrate the method ofmounting the paddles thereon.

Q. For the purpose of illustrating my invention,I have shown in Fig. 1 avessel A Awhich may be a boat of any desired type adapted to bepropelled by motive power. At the stern ofthis boat I have illustratedmy invention in its entirety, at B, which is installed within a housing10 formed in the bottom of the boat and adapted to 'enclose thepropulsion device along the upper portion and 'sides thereof.Withinthe.; boat'is positioned an engine 11 ofvanydesir'd type which isprovided with a'shaft 12 extending-through the ed to propel the device,aswillpresently ecome apparent.

vThe invention proper -as best shown in Figs. 2 andy 3, comprises twolongitudinal beams y13 and ltwhich are 4connected together at suitableintervals' with cross members 15 ri'vetedthereto. Near the ends of thebeams 13 are arranged bearings V16 in which are journaled two 'shafts 17and 18 carrying drums 19 and 20. The shaft 18 is driven from the shaft12 through engine 11.

The drums19 and 20 may be constructed in any suitable lmanner l and arepreferably -formed seven sided, as illustrated, to accom- Vmodatetheparticular type of carrier Achains shown in the drawings. AThepropulsion device which is supported on the beams 13- and 14 is mountedin the'boat by suitable structures secured to the-framework of the boatjproper--a`ndh carrying the said beams 13 Over the two drums -19and 20pass two wardly therefrom as illustrated on the lower chains 21 and 22,each arranged with an upper and lower run 23 and 24. These chainsconsist of spaced link bars 25 and 26 which are pivotally connected toblocks27 which serve as suitable spacers and also connect the said linkbars together. These chains ride freely upon the drums 19 and 2O and itwill be noted that the corners of said drums indicated at 28'are cutaway to accommodate the blocks 27 of the said chains. 'I he lower runs24 of the chains 21 and 22 run free and are arranged to project belowthe'keel of the boat, as shown in Fig. 1, while the upper runs 21 aresupported on tracks 29 secured to .the cross members 15 of thesupporting structure of the device. l

In the centers of each of the link bars 25 and 26 are pivotally mountedpintles 30 which extend completely across both chains and may be slidtransversely relative to the same.

These pintles have secured to them paddles 3l which are adapted tonormally extend outrun 24 of the chains 21 and 22, in Fig. 2,

or which may be swung upon said pintl'es to A occupy positions asillustrated in conjunctionwith the upper runs 23 of said chains 1n thesame figure, said movement being permitted through the swinging of saidpaddles upon the p intlesl30. In between the respective link bars 25.and 26 are arranged levers 32 and 33l which are mounted upon saidpintles and are connected at their outer por tions 35 to the paddles 31.These levers are best shown in Fig. 5 and terminate at their lower endsin cams 35 which normally project outwardly beyond the contactingsurface of the chains 21 and 22, when said paddles are in projectedposition. Vhen the chains 21 and 22'engage the drums 19 and 20, the cams35 of levers 32 and 33 engage the surface of said drums and cause thesaid levers together with the paddles 31 connected therewith, to

be moved into positions substantially coin-v cidingr with the plane ofsaid chains.- In this manner, as the two chains travel around the drums19 and 20, the paddles are permitted to extend into projected positionalong the lower runs 24 and are caused to lie substantially inthe planeof the chains when moving along the' upper runs of the same.

For holdingthe addles 31 in projected position, the'followingconstruction is employed which is best shown in Figs. 5 and 3. Along thefacing surfaces of each of the link bars 25 and '26 o f the chains 21and 22 are arranged oppositely disposed stops 36 and 37. These stopsare-'arranged with in clined Surfaces 38 and -vertical surfaces 39adapted to cooperate with the extended portions 40 of levers 32 orvwithportions of said leversfindicated at 41 adjacent lthe cams 35. It willbe noted that the width of the levers 32 and cams 35isle'ss than thedistance between one of the link bars 25 or 26 and the '55 slidable'along the shaft 47.

opposite stops 36 or 37 so that said levers 32 may be shifted intoengagement with either of the stops. By means of this construction thesaid levers may be held from movement stolps. V

s before stated, the pintles 30 which carry the levers 32 and 33and thepaddles 31 are slidably arranged in the link bars 25 and26 of therespective chains 21 and 22 so that said levers may be shifted toposition the same for operation `of the carrier in either forward orreverse direction. For this purpose the said pintles are of such alength that the extreme ends 42 and 43 thereof extend outwardly beyondthe outer faces of the link bars 26. The ends of these pintles areadaptcdto be engaged by two cams 44and 45 which are moved in unison andwhich serve to shift the shafts 46, 47 and 48 which are journaled inbearings 49 formed on the underside of said track and rigidly securedthereto. The shaft 47 is arranged for rotation within its bearings andis held from axial movement by means of two collars 50 and 51. The twoshafts 46 and 48ste connected togetherv at their two ends by means ofcross heads 52 and 53 which are rigidly secured theretoand are arrangedfor sliding motion in their bearings 49 and upon the shaft 47. TheseAtwo cross'heads have rigidly attached to them the cams 44 and 45 so thatwhen the said cross heads are reciprocated, said cams are drawn in thepaths of the en ds 42 and 43 of p intles 3() so as to shift the sameinto engagement with either of the sets of stops 36 or 37.

For shifting theeains 44 and 45 -I construct l the cross headsy 52 and53 with bosses 54 and These bosses are constructed with spiral canisurfaces,56 and 57 which are adapted to ccact with complcmenta'l spiralcam` surfaces 58 and 59 formed on the .hubs 60 and 161 ,of the twoAlevers 62 and 63 rigidly secured to the ends of the shaft 47. With thisconstruction, the cams 44 and 45 may be simultaneously shifted llO ineither direction depending upon the movei ment of said levers 62 and 63.The lever 62 extends. upwardly beyond the device proper and may haveattached to -it -arod 64 by means of whichthe device "ma be manuallyoperated. It will be. noted-tint such playV 4exists between the bosses54 and 55 and the hubs 60 and 61 so' that the lever 62 may 4moved fromone extreme position back into its intermediate position withoutaffecting the shifting ofthe respective paddles. This allowsthev machineto betr-ought back to' neutral without requiring' the same to re-v mainineither of its extreme positions dur# ing the operation. of the device.

For thepurpose ofreversing the position .of the paddles 31 in travelingover the drums 19 and 20 I attach to the center portions of each ofthetracks 29 a casting: 65 best illusvtrated in detail in Fig. 4, which isvformed with an arcuate guideway or groove 6 6 open at its two lowerends which face the chains 21`and 22 as the same pass throughsaidtracks. At the lowermost portions of this guidewayare pivotallymounted lingers 67.and 68 which are attached to shafts 69 and 70journaled in said casting 65 and extending ycompletely through the .samewhere said shafts have at tached to them arms 71 and 72. These lingersare adapted to swing from their two extreme positions shown in full anddotted lines in E ig. 4 in conjunction with arms 71 'and 72 and arearranged to catch lugs 75 formed on the they extend onthe other side ofsaid casting The fingers 67 and 68 are .manipulated by means of thelevers 62 and 63 which are adapted to engage the extreme ends of thearms 71 and 72 and cause the same to swingto throw the fingers 67 and 68into either of their extreme positions. Arms 71 and 72 haveattached tothem tension coil s rings 76 and 77 which vare so arranged 'as to oldsaid fingers 66 and 67 in either of their extreme ositions. As soon asthe arms 71 and 72 are rought over dead centerwith respectto' thesesprings, said springs throw said levers to their extreme positions.

For resetting the fingers 67 and.68 in normal position,the-"followingconstruction is used: On the end of each of s aidngers isprovided an inwardly .extendingx beam 78 which is adapted to 'engage asoulder 79 formed'on. each of the 'levers' 32 and 33;4 When theA lugs 75are entering thegroover, the saidshoulder 79 follows along upon thebeam" 78 and `into'the groove 66 until-'the levers 32 and 33 aresufficiently elevatedto cause the lowermost end of said shoulder to-clear said beam. The said 'lugs 75 the'nconf the said fingers hack intonornilhpostion.'

When all of the paddles 31 have beenieversed the shoulders 79 act 'ascam surfaces andengage the beams 78 and cause the fingers 67 l.

be again elevated. As soon as theingers pass dead center the samesnap'back into normal position leaving-the levers 32 and 33 free4 fromthe same and adaptedto pass along the tracks 29 without obstruction. Itwill be noted that the said tracks 29 are depressed as indica-ted at80-to permit the cams35 on said levers 32 and 33 to swing durin -thereversal of the paddles 31.- Itwill readily he comprehended that bysimply throwing the lever 62 into either direction so as to engageeither of the arms 71 and .72 that the lingers 67 or 68, as the case maybe, are brought into operativerelation to cause the reversal of thepaddles. To cause the paddles to lie'horizontally along the lower run soas to enable the same to travel over the drums in reversed position,

each paddle isformed at its outer end with an air space 81 which tendsto float the said paddles and hold themin substantially horizontalposition. Such buoyancy is further aided through the resistance offeredby the water to the passage of thepaddles therethrou' h which causesthepaddles to swing into t er plane of the carrier. As soon as-.all of thepaddles have been reversed, the power transmitted tothe drum 18 fromengine 11 can also be reversed and the device will propel the vessel ina reverse direction.

My invention is highly advantageous in that a great'amount of power maybe transmitted so as to give a large amount or tractive efforttogetherwith high velocity. The device will function so as to propel the vesselin either direction by. simply operating one lever-to reverse thepaddles and another lever to reverse the power after the reversalof the-Changes in the specific form of my invention, as herein disclosed, maybe madew'ithin the scope of what isclaimed without departlng from thespirit of my invention.

Having described my invention, what' I claim as new anddesire to protectby Letters Patentis: A

1. A vessel propulsion device comprising spaced revoluble' members, anendless carrier passing around said members, a plurality of..

paddles -pivotedto. said carrier and adapted to extend outwardlytherefrom 'or to' swing substantially into the plane ofsaidjcarriers,

said paddles being movable transversely relativel to said carrier, andpairs of stops for holding said paddles from movement in either'direction while in extended position, and means for shifting saidpaddles laterally to bring ofsto s.

'2.` vessel the .same in engagement with eitherset repulsion devicecomprising'.

spaced revolub e members, an endless carrier passing around -saidmembers, al plurality of.

to bring the same in engagement with either setof stops, and meansoperated by said shifting means for reversing the position of saidpaddles relative to said carrier when substantially positioned in theplane thereof.

iii

8. A'vessel propulsion device comprising spaced revoluble members, anendless carrier passing around said members, a pluralit)r of paddlespivoted to said carrier and adapted to extend outwardly therefrom or toswing suhstantially into the plane of said carriers, said paddles beingmovable transversely relative to said carrier, and pairs of stops forholding' said paddles from movementin either direction ivhile inextended position, means fdr shifting said paddles laterally to bringthe saine in engagement with either set ot stops. an a'ienate guideivaypositioned in proximity .to said carrier, lugs-on. tlie-end of said paddles adapted to pass through said guidewav. said paddles beingadapted toreverse in direction upon` passage therethrough, and means for directingsaid lugs into said guideivay. l

4. A vessel propulsion device comprising spaced revoluble members. anendless carrier passing around said members. a-` plurality ot paddlespivoted to said'cari'ier and adapted to extend outwardly therefrom' orto swing -substantially into the plane ot said carriers, said paddlesbeing movable transversely relative to said carrier.` and pairs of stopstor holding said paddles from movement in either direction while inextended position, means for shifting said paddles laterally4 to bringthe same in engagement with either set of stops. an arcuate guide 'avpositioned in proximity to said carrier, lugs on -the end of saidpaddles adapted to pass through said guideivav. said paddles beingadapted to reversein direction upon passage therethrough. and means fordirecting said lugs'into said guideway,'and mcanslfor rendering saiddireeting means inoperative upon the reversal of all of said paddles'.Y. A

5. A vessel propulsion device con'iprising spaced revoluble members.an-endless carrier passing around said members. a plurality of paddlespivoted to said carrier and adapted to extend outwardly therefrom ortoswing substantially into the plane of said carriers, said paddlesbeing movable transversely relative to. said carrier.. and pairs ofstops for -holding said paddles' from 'movement in either directionlwhile in exten-ded position, means for shifting said paddles laterallyto bring the same in engagement with either set of stops, an arcuateguideway positioned .in proximity to said carrier, lugs on the end ofsaid paddles adapted to pass throu h said guideway, said paddles beingadapte to reverse in direction upon passage therethrough, and means fordirecting said lugs into said guideway, said directing means beingsimultaneously operable with said shifting means.

6. A vessel propulsion device` comprising a. pair of revoluble drums, apair of chains passing over'eaeh end of s'aid drums, said chainscomprising spaced link bars pivoted together, levers pivoted to saidlink bars at the centers thereof, paddles attached tosaid levers,oppositely facing lstops formed on the inner surfaces of said link bars'for alternate engagement with said levers for holding said paddles frommovement from extended position in either direction, said levers beingtransversely movable, and means forshifti ig4 said levers to bring thesame in engagememl` ivith either set of stops.

7. A vessel propulsion device comprising a pair ot revoluble drums, apair of chains passing over each end ofvsaid drums, said chainscomprising spaced link bars pivoted together, levers pivoted to saidlink bars at the centers thereof, paddles attached to said levers.oppositelyfacing stops formed on the inner surfaces of said ,link barsfor alternate engagement with said levers for holding said paddles frommovement from extended position in either direction, vsaid, levers beingtransversel)v movable, said levers having the p intles thereotextendingoutwardly beyond the surface of said chains,a member shittabletransversely relative to said -chains, spaced cam members formed on saidshiftable member adapted to strziddle said chains and to alternatelyengage the p intles on opposite sides ot said paddles for shitting saidlevers into engagement with either of said set ot stops.

8. A vessel propulsion device comprising a pair of ievoluble drums. apair of chains passing over ea'cb end of said drums. said chainscomprising.spaced link bars pivoted together, levers pivotcd to saidlink bars at the centers thereof, paddles attached to said levers,oppositely facingr stops formed on the inner surfaces ot said link barsfor alternate engagement with said levers for holding said paddles4 frommovement from extended positi'on in either direction. said levers beingtransversely movable. said levers having the pintles thereof?extendingoutwardly beyond the surtace'ot' said chains, a member shiftabletransversely relative to said chains. spaced cam members formed on saidshiftable inember adapted to straddle said chains and to alternatelyengage the piiitlcs on opposite sides of saifd paddles for shifting saidlevers into engagement with either of said set of stops,

medito,

. of said paddles rela-tive to said chains.

9. l vessel propulsion device Comprising spooed revolulole members, anendless carrier passing' allround said members, 2i `plurality of paddlespivoted to said carrier and adapted 4 to extend outwardly therefrom.stops on sziid paddle from swinging in one direction, and the other ofsaid stops being adapted to engage the peddle on the opposite sidetheeof for holding` said paddle from swinging; in the oppositedirection, sind means for alternately bringing each successive paddleinto'engage ment with either oit' the stops Corresponding therewith.

ln testimony whereof-'vl have afxed my 2Q- l signature to thisspecilication.

llllhldtlllll CHARLES lllll'lll..

carrier, two tor each paddle, one'of said stops l@ being; @Adopted toengage the corresponding; peddle on one side thereof vlor holding seid

